Monthly Archives: November 2015

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Da Vinci. Picasso. Shakespeare. What is creativity? Where does it come from? I’m certainly not about to turn this blog post into a TED talk, a Jonah Lehrer article, or a college thesis.

We all know creativity when we see it, and it is a trait that most, if not all, people aspire to. Whether you’re a systems analyst, a software developer, a musician, or a mailman, every profession can benefit from some sort of creative consciousness and abilities, and every person can benefit from having a creative outlet.

While everyone might not have the talent to be a creative artist, everyone does have his or her own unique creativity.

Addiction to painkillers is more rampant than ever. Because of easy access to them coupled with the powerful effects it has on the body, close to 4.3% of New Yorkers over the age of 12 are addicted to opiods (pain relievers).

For a lot of educators and coaches, the proof is in the pudding. If you are a barber, your hair has to look good. If you help businesses with their Google rankings, your business better be on page 1 of Google. But for other industries and skill sets, there does not need to be such a direct correlation between the teacher’s accomplishments and the subject he/she teaches.

An English professor does not need to have a Pulitzer to inspire great literary talents (nor can all literary geniuses teach!), the Yankees hitting coach doesn’t have to be an Alex Rodriguez to help Alex Rodriguez, and a life coach doesn’t have to be the father of four doctors, thirteen grandchildren; have financial success, cultural finesse, sexual intrigue, and a clean-record marriage; be faithful; and have a great rack of teeth.

No…A life coach does not give you some magic formula for the complete and perfect life. I don’t make miracles (but I make you feel miraculous). What I do as a life coach is analyze your current predicaments and pull from all potential resources to remedy those issues.

It’s piecemeal, it’s practical, and it works. A lot of people come to me thinking they need to get their life on track when really, all they need is an outside pair of eyes to see that the issue is really about a handful of very unsettling issues. While it might feel like a snowball effect, in reality, it’s a fixable set of problems.

So what does a life coach need? A life coach first needs a very good eye for the problems that affect people. He/She needs to know that one person’s unhappiness, based on the given information, might be work related and another might be relationship related. They need to be attuned and have the background and skill to pick a part the problem(s) in detail. Secondly, they need to help unmask the resources available to the client. Thirdly, and most importantly, they need to prescribe ways to implement changes based on these resources.

So redefine life coaching before you define your life coach. It will help a lot.

Let me first start by saying I’m not anti-lawyer. I have a phenomenal lawyer who I’ve referred to dozens of clients over the years. So, when I talk about the benefits of seeing me for conflict mediation as opposed to a lawyer, it is not to denigrate the legal route in general. Lawyers are necessary, and, like any industry, you need to find the right one to go forward.

Almost everyone alive will tell you that they suffer or suffered some form of stress in their lives. But can they give you a definition of stress, past the standard dictionary definition? It’s important that, as your life coach, I help you define stress, so that we can measure its effects on you.

Stress is a word with many meanings. It was first used in 17th century British physicist Robert Hooke’s law (expectedly, Hooke’s Law) that states that an external force produces an equivalent amount of deformation (or strain) in metals. In this instance, stress was viewed as a stimulus, not a reaction.